Darkness Within
by SunsetVolcano
Summary: A few weeks after the battle in Gongmen City, the kung fu warriors return to their usual lives. Life becomes uneasy for Master Tigress as she begins to rebuild a wall around her heart, trying not to have feelings for anyone.When a disaster strikes, threatening the whole world, Tigress is more than ready. But what if the enemy is her own corrupted mother? Continued inside...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! My name's SunsetVolcano! :) This is my first KFP fanfic so don't blame me if it sucks!**

**As you can see, I'm a big fan of Kung fu Panda. Tigress is my favourite character! That's why she's the main character in this fanfic.**

**Things I do not own: Kung fu Panda, its characters and its locations. Dreamworks owns them not this weird girl who loves writing fanfiction.  
**

**Things I own: My OCs and locations that I randomly made up...  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own KFP!**

**Complete summary:**

**A few weeks after the battle in Gongmen City, the kung fu warriors return to their usual lives. Life becomes uneasy for Master Tigress as she begins to rebuild a wall around her heart, trying not to have feelings for anyone, not even for Po. When a disaster strikes, threatening the whole world, Tigress is more than ready. But what if the enemy is her own mother, corrupted by the darkness within? Embark on an adventure as Tigress fights against her own mother and the darkness that threatens to take control of her mother...and herself.**

* * *

_I ran along the tall, dewy grass, clutching the single note in my paw. My emerald robe trailed behind me as I pushed through the crowd, eager to deliver my urgent message. I could hear whispering from every person I pushed aside. "It's the leader of the neighbouring village!" one would whisper. "I would what he wants." another would say._

_But as I pushed through the crowd of black-and-white bears, nothing seemed to stop me. An important message was all I was focusing on. An important message to a friend who had kindly shared a piece of land with me and my people._

_As I ran up the stone steps to the throne, I wondered if this was worth it. Seriously? I had taken a three day trip to this village just to inform him?! Why should I tell him? Why?_

_I shook the thought away. Goddammit! These past months, bad thoughts have tried to sneak into my mind every once in awhile but lucky, due to meditating, I could banish those thoughts and find a little peace in mind. Speaking of which, I hadn't meditated in days!_

_When I reached the top of the steps, I sighed at the sight of my friend sitting on the wooden floor, apparently meditating. I took a step forward and cleared my throat, reluctant to break his focus. The bear's ear twitched and he turned his head slightly. A smile appeared on his face as he stood up. He fixed his robe and shook my hand vigorously._

_"My dear friend," His expression changed to concern and he still held my paw, "What might bring you here, Bao-zhi?"_

_"I have found important information, Kai," I slipped the note into the sleeve of his robe._

_Kai let go of my paw but did not dare to look at the note. His face still held curiosity._

_"It's a three-day trip to here, Bao-zhi!" He exclaimed, "Why didn't you send a messenger? Who's taking care of your village?"_

_"Don't worry, Kai," I said, calmly, "Dawn is taking care of everything. And I think you should look at the note. It holds the reason why I didn't send a messenger."_

_Kai stared at me and his brow furrowed. He looked a bit uneasy as if he found out something he could not believe._

_I put my paw on his shoulder and sighed._

_"I know something's wrong," I said, "I'm not stupid."_

_"My son...he is..."_

_He stopped mid-sentence and looked away from me._

_I blinked. Kai had a son? What happened to him?_

_As much as I want to ask, I could not. I could see suffering and bad memories in the man's glistening eyes. I could not make the man spill the beans._

_Kai was looking up at the sun as it slowly began to dip below the horizon. The pandas who were working in the fields began to go back home._

_Kai snapped back to reality and turned to me._

_"Bao-zhi..." He did not meet my eyes, "You must go to the village. Zan probably has room for you. I hope you haven't brought any guests?"_

_"Of course not!" I snapped, "Like I said, I'm not stupid!"_

_"Good," Kai ignored my scowl, "We will leave the village tomorrow. I have to meet someone in the Valley of Peace."_

_I raised an eyebrow (Note: they do have eyebrows, right?) and grinned._

_"I don't think you should read the note, anymore, Kai, because that's exactly where I'm going."_

_Kai looked at me wide eyed. I looked down and shut my eyes, trying to shake the bad memories away. Dawn and I running into the forest away from...our mother. She was after Lei. My sister. The sister with the happiness in her amber eyes when you tickled her. The sister I could hold close and whisper my secrets to. The sister Dawn and I loved with all our heart._

_But she was gone._

_Until now._

_Tears were pouring out of my eyes as I looked up at Kai. His paw was on my shoulder and he nodded, letting me cry._

_After what felt like forever, I wiped my tears. Kai wrapped an arm around me.  
_

_"Ready to talk about it?" He asked, quietly. I nodded and explained the whole thing in one sentence._

_"I'm visiting my long lost sister."_

* * *

Jade Palace was quiet and peaceful. The sun dipped slightly below the horizon as the warriors awaited their dinner. All the masters gathered in the kitchen as as the Dragon Warrior hummed and stirred a pot of soup.

All the warriors waited patiently. Except for one, who was not seated at the table.

"Uh..." The panda broke the silence, "Where's Tigress?"

_Meanwhile..._

"ARGH!"

In the forest of ironwood trees behind the Jade Palace, a certain, furious master was letting out some steam. The female tiger thrust another punch at the tree in front of her, ignoring the blood that trickled down her knuckles.

Three hundred ninety five...three hundred ninety six...three hundred ninety seven...

Tigress froze in mid-punch. She looked up at the sky.

"Oh shit!" She exclaimed and dashed off on all fours toward the Palace.

Tigress reached her destination in a few minutes. She didn't break a sweat as she rushed into the barracks.

When she entered the kitchen, everyone was seated and Po had just began to serve his fellow warriors. He greeted Tigress with a warm smile.

Tigress took her seat and no one seemed to question her temporary absence. With one look at her paw, they knew where she was.

It had been a week since they had left Gongmen City but Tigress was still furious about herself. The blast from the cannon hurt her and Tigress had started punching the ironwood trees to steel her body further. She meditated and trained for most of the day. Sometimes, Po would barge into her room every once in a while to show her a cool pan or an awesome pot. Tigress didn't mind his presence at times but sometimes she thought of him as annoying.

Ever since that hug at the dock, Tigress seemed to become cold (or "hardcore" as Po thought of it) again. Not once had she smiled or laughed since then.

Po had noticed this and tried to make her laugh or maybe even smile. But it never worked.

She had already rebuilt the wall around her heart.

As they ate dinner, Po sparked up a little conversation with Mantis and Monkey. It turned into an argument, though. Monkey's almond cookies had gone missing (yet again). The suspect? The food-loving panda.

"How do you know _I _did it?" Po frowned. He obviously ate it but he wouldn't give up without a fight.

"Who _else _would've done it?" Mantis' eyes narrowed, "Tigress?"

Tigress rolled her eyes and continued eating her tofu (she was the only one eating it).

"Just look at your belly, Po!" Monkey shook his head, pointing at Po's enormous belly, "You're always hungry and I can't hide my almond cookies. It's like...you can smell it from ten miles away!"

Po looked down at his belly, defeated. Viper noticed this and decided to defend her friend.

"Hey! Stop making fun of his stomach!" Viper piped up, "How would you feel?"

"Well, I don't have a big belly," Monkey grinned.

"Well..." Crane smiled, "How would you feel if I told Po where your weakness is?"

Tigress grinned a bit. She knew what was coming next.

"Po must've found out long ago!" Monkey chuckled nervously, "Haven't you Po?"

Po grinned.

"Nope," He chimed, "Where's his weakness?"

Monkey looked at Crane wide eyed. He jumped across the table and grabbed the bird's beak, shutting it.

"Don't...you...ever...say...it..." Monkey breathed into the shocked bird's ear.

"What is going on here?!" A voice bellowed.

Everyone turned to the doorway. There stood a certain grumpy red panda. The room fell silent.

Tigress was the first to speak.

"They were being foolish," She said, "They were just arguing until Crane decided that he would tell Po Monkey's weakness."

Master Shifu raised an eyebrow. Crane gave Tigress a "why did you do that, you heartless beast?!" look. Monkey who was still holding Crane's beak was staring wide eyed at Master Shifu. Po turned to look at Tigress then Shifu then Tigress then Shifu...(on and on and on). Viper blinked and looked at Mantis who sitting there as if he did nothing.

Master Shifu chuckled, "Doesn't everyone know Monkey's weakness?"

"His tail," Everyone chimed causing Monkey to turn beet-red. He let go of Crane's beak and returned to his seat.

"I still want my almond cookies," He whispered.

* * *

**Remember, people! R & R! :P**


	2. Chapter 2

_Kai and I had decided to rest for the day. The sun had just began to set on the third day away from our villages. The trees hid us from danger as we built our tent from branches, twigs and grass.  
_

_I rolled out my sleeping mat and sat cross-legged on the mat. With my eyes shut, I inhaled and exhaled until my breaths were in complete rhythm. Not one thought, sound or smell seemed to distract me from my meditation. Not even Kai's snores. What felt like hours later, I opened my eyes, feeling relieved. The moon was a great white orb in the sky, smiling down on the panda and I. The moon's gaze seemed to try to put me into a deep sleep as I laid down on the soft mat. However, my thoughts distracted me and I could not let my questions go unanswered o thought about._

**_"Will Lei be the same?"_**

_"She will look the same but she is 27 or 28, of course, so she will not be that little baby in your arms."  
_

_That seemed to bother me a lot._

**_"What if she doesn't remember me?" _**

_"Of course she won't remember me!"  
_

_Memories came rushing back at me. This time it was my mother. So young. Beautiful. She held Lei in her arms. Dawn was tugging on my mom's black gown asking if she could go and play. I stood beside Dawn, laughing as my mother gave her a cold-hearted "no". _

_Dad towered above us all. His smile spread all across his face. He tickled Lei and laughed as she tried to eat his finger. Mother smiled but was silent. She set Lei into Father's arms and ran off._

_Tears streamed down my cheeks for the second time that week._

_"Why did you have to leave me, Father?"_

* * *

The panda awoke shivering and with tears in his eyes. It shocked him for a moment as he tried to remember his dreams. He shook away his tears and rocked back and forth on his bed. _The dream..._, he thought, _What was the dream?_

Then, it all came back to him. The wolves. His father. Lord Shen. His...his mother...

He shook away his tears yet again and remembered the battle in Gongmen City. How he beat up the wolves with no sweat. How he killed Lord Shen. Then, a memory stopped Po in his train of thought.

Tigress.

She had pushed him away from the cannon. She saved his life and took the injury. The panda felt sorrow as he remembered. He had always felt guilty for it. The panda always wanted to repay his best friend. Either by saving her life or just making her happy.

Both seemed impossible at the moment.

Po yawn and stretched. It was probably very early in the morning. It was not dawn, of course, since the gong had not rang yet.

The barracks were quiet but all the panda could hear was the soft creaking of the floorboard. It seemed to come from the room across from him...

The door of the room across from him slide open and Tigress stepped out. She tip-toed along the hall but she did not enter the kitchen ; she had left the barracks.

_Where might she be going?_

His curiosity lead him through the hall and out the barracks. The wind was cool outside and the sun had not risen yet but its rays peered a little above the horizon. That gave him a few minutes before the gong.

The bear look around a bit and tried to see if Tigress was around. His eyes scanned the horizon until -

_THERE!_

Po spotted a red, orange and black heap sitting atop Peach Tree Hill. A voice pulled him toward the Hill and set him into a run all the way up.

When he was near the top, Po was panted and sweated. His heart beat quickened as he tried to rush to the top. He clasped onto the ground.

_"Well...that was a workout..."_

"Ahem..."

The panda froze for a second then slowly looked up. The tiger stood right in front of him, one hand on her hip.

_"She looks so hot when she does that..."_

_"Wait...what?"_

The panda mentally slapped himself as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"What are you doing here?" Tigress demanded. Her voice had an edge to it.

"I was just about to ask you the same question..."

Tigress rolled her eyes. Po could see a slight grin appear but it disappeared and was replaced by her usual serious face.

"I-"

As if on cue, the gong rang out. Their eyes widened and they rushed down the Hill. Po ignored his tiredness and ran like the wind. But that wasn't like him. He wouldn't run that fast just because training was about to start (he didn't like training anyways).

It was because it wasn't dawn yet. The gong had rung before dawn. It only meant one thing:

Something was wrong.

* * *

Excuse me for the short chapter. I could've wrote more...sorry...

And excuse me for me lateness...sorry for that, too...


	3. Chapter 3

"What is going on, Master?" Viper said, concerned as she slithered toward her master. Behind her was the rest of the Furious Five (minus Tigress).

The four warriors waited for an answer but all they could hear was the whistling wind coming from outside. The door of the Hall of Warriors was hanging slightly open as the wind tried to enter.

The red panda sat atop the staff Master Oogway had given him. He seemed to be in deep thought as he did not answer Viper's question.

"Where is the panda?" Master Shifu inquired, suddenly, "And where is Tigress?"

As if rehearsed in advance, a black and white ball of fur rolled into the room at top speed, knocking down the four warriors like a bunch of bowling pins. Master Shifu swiftly moved out of the way and grimaced at the pile of animals at his feet.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, guys!" The panda apologized, standing up, "Wait...where's Mantis?"

"Umph eer!" A muffled voice shouted from under the panda's foot.

The Five stood up and Po lifted his foot. The praying mantis quickly jumped out of the way.

Tigress quietly entered the Hall and took her place next to Crane.

Master Shifu sighed and shook his head, looking sternly at his students' curious faces.

"I have received a message from a village not far from here," Master Shifu announced, "A group of bandits have been terrorizing and kidnapping innocent people who decided to travel there. The leader of the village has noticed that a few of them are wolves. She suspects that they are the remainder of Shen's army. However, these bandits are highly trained and even the village's best warriors cannot defeat them. And so, he has asked us to gather information and annihilate them."

"This village known as the Village of Forgotten Souls is about a three-day journey south so you have to leave as soon as possible."

The Five turned away to leave but Po stood there with a smile creeping up his face. Master Shifu's frown deepened.

"What is it, panda?"

Po snapped out of his thoughts but a grin was still on his face.

"We get to save all of China, again! SWEET!"

Master Shifu raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't really-"

But the panda had already ran out of the Hall, shouting for the Five to wait for him. Once he was outside, he tripped over Mantis and-

"OW! OUCH! YAAAAAAAA~"

The panda flew down the stairs and the Five burst out laughing. A small smile appeared on Tigress' face as she and the rest of the Five walked down the stairs.

* * *

The tiger sat in the center of the dark room. Her legs were crossed and her hands were clasped on her knees. A faint red glow emitted from her as she meditated.

This was her position for more than a decade.

The woman's clothing was a ragged black gown. Her dark red eyes looked straight ahead as she focused. She did not dare to blink as if, any second now, someone would appear in front of her.

But no one dared to bother her. Not one.

But this moment was different. A young, female tiger dressed in a fine white qipao entered the room, silently. The young tiger sat down behind the elder but the two did not dare to speak.

"Milady..." Said the younger tiger after a few moments of awkward silence.

The bright red aura around the meditating tiger faded and she blinked. A smile crept up her lips and she spoke.

"Dawn...it has been a while..." She said standing up and turning around.

Dawn kept her head down as the tiger stepped toward her. But she felt something try and pull her head. Dawn tried her best to resist. What was this weird feeling?

Despite her efforts, Dawn found herself looking up at the tiger. Dawn's amber eyes filled with sorrow as she saw the evil grin on the young woman's face. Dawn shook the feeling away and grasped a more serious expression.

"You look so much like your father," Said the older tiger, with a teasing smile, as she turned away and walked throughout the room, "It makes me almost miss him."

Dawn growled and the older tiger chuckled. Dawn stood up and followed the woman to the window which was concealed by a pitch black curtain.

"You didn't change one bit," Dawn retorted, "I almost thought you weren't an old woman."

The old tiger chuckled once more as she pulled the curtains apart revealing a very beautiful sunrise. But Dawn closed her eyes and looked away. The houses outside were destroyed and there was nothing but rubble. The sandy streets were empty.

The older tiger frowned.

"No one dared to return after what you did," Dawn explained, harshly, "You were -and still are- a wicked woman."

"Fear is an incredible enemy," The tiger said, turning away from the window to look at Dawn but she was still turned away, "It was what kept me here for so long. It was what kept my own children away. Even Lei didn't-"

"Lei doesn't know you."

"What?" Burning anger was in the tiger's voice but Dawn continued.

"Bao-zhi and I hid her away that night. We ran away from the village and took her to..."

Dawn took that moment to turn toward the other tiger with a mighty grin on her face.

"We took her to an orphanage. But, Bao-zhi found her, two days ago. We found out she has been trained to be a Kung fu master and she was adopted by a red panda known as Master Shifu. Bao-zhi decided to go out and search for her. And so, here I am, telling you all this. Milady...I believe you wanted her all these years. And I was wondering...why?"

The older tiger turned away to look out the window once more. Her eyes were sparkling with joy.

"Tell me, Dawn," The tiger said, "Did you know that only one of my children share a similar power as I do?"

"So..." Dawn raised her eyebrow, still not getting the point, "Lei is...the only child...with...uh..."

The older tiger grinned evilly and Dawn felt a chill go up her spine.

_"No..." _Dawn thought, _"I hope I haven't done something wrong..."_

But Dawn couldn't undo all the thing she said and did so she stayed.

"Tell me, Dawn," The older tiger said, "Have you kept contacted with that insane peacock named Shen?"

"No, Milady," Dawn said, "But he and his army have been killed by the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, a group of five warriors that I believe Lei is part of. Not all of the army of course but a inordinate amount. The living ones are stuck in Gongmen Prison."

"I believe you should gather them and a few of your most trust worthy men," The older tiger said, "I have a plan...and I hope it ends in victory. If you fail...death will be upon you in a heartbeat."

Dawn cringed but bowed, saying, "Yes, milady." She turned around to walk away but the older tiger stopped her.

"One more thing," The older tiger smiled.

"Yes?"

"Don't call me 'milady'. Call me...mother..."


End file.
